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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rule — a law
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — a tool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. club — for golf
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rule — government
  18. stem — to come from
  19. club — for dancing
  20. clip — for paper
  21. club — a group
  22. clip — a video
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com